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Geek Avenges Stolen Laptop By Remotely Accessing Thief's Facebook Account (hothardware.com)

Posted by EditorDavid on from the I-know-what-you-posted-last-summer dept.

An anonymous reader quotes Hot Hardware: Stu Gale, who just so happens to be a computer security expert, had the misfortune of having his laptop stolen from his car overnight. However, Gale did have remote software installed on the device which allowed him to track whenever it came online. So, he was quite delighted to see that a notification popped up on one of his other machines alerting him that his stolen laptop was active. Gale took the opportunity to remote into the laptop, only to find that the not-too-bright thief was using his laptop to login to her Facebook account.

The thief eventually left her Facebook account open and left the room, after which Gale had the opportunity to snoop through her profile and obtain all of her private information. "I went through and got her phone numbers, friends list and pictures..." Given that Gale was able to see her phone numbers listed on Facebook, he sent text messages to all of those numbers saying that he was going to report her to the police. He also posted her info to a number of Facebook groups, which spooked the thief enough to not only delete her Facebook account, but also her listed phone numbers.
In 2008 Slashdot ran a similar story, where it took several weeks of remote monitoring before a laptop thief revealed his identity. (The victim complained that "It was kind of frustrating because he was mostly using it to watch porn.") But in this case, Gale just remotely left a note on the laptop -- and called one of the thief's friends -- and eventually turned over all the information to the police, who believe an arrest will follow.

Gale seems less confident, and tells one Calgary newspaper "I'm realistic. I'm not going to see that computer again. But at least I got some comic relief."

9 of 377 comments (clear)

  1. Security expert? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Interesting

    If he is such a "computer security expert", why did he not have his laptop fully encrypted as well as (naturally) an OS login password? Seems to me that he was either actively trying to bait somebody like this, or he's a complete moron.

    1. Re:Security expert? by freeze128 · · Score: 4, Interesting

      If he had full disk encryption, the suspect would have to wipe the drive and reinstall to use the system. If the system was wiped, then there is less chance that the victim would be able to track down the laptop.

      You seem to think that he is a complete moron, but it seems to me that he made the right decision.

    2. Re:Security expert? by BarbaraHudson · · Score: 2, Interesting

      I never lock my doors when I'm not home, because I'm not worried about theft. Knowing your neighbors and having a dog are much better risk-reduction factors than any lock ever will be. All locks can be bypassed. Watch the link I posted elsewhere which shows where to buy a device that will let you reprogram any car with keyless entry to accept any other key, so you just drive off.

      I've had things stolen when I used to lock stuff up - the insurance company will make it as hard as possible to get what you're owed, so why bother? Bank the premiums and self-insure. You'll almost always come out ahead.

      And your attitude that how I dress somehow makes it not a crime to sexually assault me (example 1, which happened in a subway station at 10 am) is just typical #rapesplaining.

      --
      "Transparent" is a shit show that trades on every stereotype going. A man in drag is NOT a transsexual.
  2. 'computer expert'. by queazocotal · · Score: 4, Interesting

    In general, the various 'identity theft' type laws which make it illegal to access others accounts don't have exceptions because it's a stolen computer.

    1. Re:'computer expert'. by dwywit · · Score: 5, Interesting

      So who brings the criminal suit for identity theft? The thief would have to swear out a complaint in which she admits theft - or that fact would come out in court. Even if hard evidence of identiy theft was available, a half-decent lawyer would have the case dismissed after a chat to the thief via the prosecutor: "If you proceed with this case, you'll face criminal and civil proceedings for theft, loss of income, etc, etc, etc. You'll be so in debt with legal bills, and a criminal conviction will be your legacy. Do you really want to proceed?"

      --
      They sentenced me to twenty years of boredom
  3. Can backfire by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Interesting

    What happened in a similar case in my country - the thief successfully sued the geek for damage to his reputation, and was awarded a compensation an order of magnitude higher than what was the value of the laptop.

  4. Uh, can't recover hardware? Why? by geekmux · · Score: 4, Interesting

    "I'm realistic. I'm not going to see that computer again..."

    The victim stated he went through her Facebook profile when she "left the room", implying he might have also had remote control of the camera. Is a picture of her face along with an entire Facebook profile and IP address somehow not enough gift-wrapped evidence to provide to the authorities for them to execute a simple knock on a fucking door to recover stolen property? What the hell...

  5. Broken law enforcement by mi · · Score: 3, Interesting

    "I'm realistic. I'm not going to see that computer again"

    From what anecdotal evidence I have myself, he is right. Even if police do find the asshole-thief and take the laptop from him, the victim is not going to receive it. They'll keep it "for the duration of the investigation" and then it might just "disappear" from the evidence room.

    And the next asshole-thief (this one with a police ID) will be smart enough to wipe it so as not get caught the same way. And, even if he does not, calling police again will not be fruitful — police protect their own, "because no one else would".

    Oh, and the original thief will not do any actual time either (much less have his hand chopped-off) — unless, maybe, this is his third offense in a "three strikes" state.

    While it may seem petty, theft costs humanity immensely — if you count the things we all have to do to keep it under control...

    --
    In Soviet Washington the swamp drains you.
  6. Doing all the wrong things by timholman · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The owner of the laptop missed his opportunity to recover his property by trying to publicly shame the woman into returning it. That was a counterproductive waste of time. She could just claim she bought it from someone, and how could he, or the police, prove otherwise?

    Anti-theft software should be designed to allow the thief to use the laptop on a guest account, while password protecting your personal account. You want the thief to use the laptop. Locking it remotely will only ensure that it is immediately disposed of, or sold for parts.

    So, assume your laptop is stolen and you've activated the remote tracking software: immediately call the police and file a report. The police won't do a thing unless you take that first step. Next, start collecting data on the thief: home address, work/school address, phone numbers, images of the thief using it, etc. Organize all of that data into a folder and take it, along with a copy of your police report, to the local police station. Show them that you know exactly who has the laptop, that person's address, the location of the laptop, etc. Also point out that if this person was the thief, there is an excellent chance that additional stolen property will be found at their residence.

    The police now have the justification they need to go knock on that person's door, or possibly get a search warrant. Granted, the person who has it may still claim it was purchased from some third party, but when police are standing in someone's home, showing them pictures of their own faces taken through the laptop camera, and saying, "Give us the laptop now, or we'll come back with a search warrant", the chances are excellent that it will be handed over.

    No one may be prosecuted, but you'll at least have your property back. Of course, this scenario presumes that the police care enough to follow through with the information you provide. In larger cities, they may not bother, but in smaller towns and rural areas, they may be very happy to assist when you present all the evidence they need on a silver platter.